Kershaw played guitar and sang in a number of underground bands from about 1976 before deciding on a career as a songwriter. However, he ended up performing his own songs rather than giving them to others, and signed a deal with MCA Records in 1983, which spawned a debut single, "I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", which just missed out on the UK Top 40. At the beginning of 1984, he made his breakthrough when "Wouldn't It Be Good", featuring a video of Kershaw as a chromakey-suited alien, reached Number 4 in the UK charts. He enjoyed three more Top 20 hits from debut album Human Racing , including the title track and a successful re-issue of his debut single, which ultimately proved his biggest hit as a performer when it got to Number 2 in the UK.
Despite winning awards, attracting admirers for his writing such as Elton John & Eric Clapton. He gainied a huge teenage fanbase, Kershaw was not without his critics. Some complained that he did too much onstage when he had a competent backing band called the Krew to play all the required guitar and keyboard parts of his songs.
Kershaw, who was married to long-time love and backing singer Sheri, then released a single called "The Riddle", which would send fans, journalists and linguists into overdrive, as each tried to establish what the meaning was behind the strange set of circumstances and clues which Kershaw put in the verses and chorus (though it in fact later turned out to be hastily created nonsense). Another major hit, it was also the title track of his second album, which also spawned two more UK Top 10 hits, "Wide Boy" and "Don Quixote".
In July 1985 Kershaw was among performers at Live Aid, Wembley Stadium. His star began to wane soon afterwards and he enjoyed only one more UK Top 40 hit, the debut single from his third album, Radio Musicola. Radio Musicola, despite receiving critical acclaim, was a flop in the UK charts. After this, Kershaw teamed up with 'We Built This City' producer Peter Wolf for his fourth album, The Works. After neither Kershaw or Wolf were happy with the results, Kershaw re-recorded the album with producer Julian Mendelsohn. The Works failed to chart in the UK, but it’s debut single, One Step Ahead, charted at No. 55. The albums failure led to him being dropped by MCA Records.
After The Works, Kershaw retired from recording music in favour of his original career path as a songwriter. His prowess as a songwriter served him well in 1991 when his song The One And Only, appeared on the soundtrack to the Brittish movie Buddy's Song and in the American film "Doc Hollywood", and provided a UK Number 1 single for the star of the film, Chesney Hawkes (son of the Tremeloes' Chip Hawkes). In 1993 The Hollies had a minor hit with another of his songs, The Woman I Love. Kershaw featured prominently as a vocalist on Tony Banks’ album Still, along with penning some of the tracks.
1999 saw the release of the Britpop-styled 15 Minutes, a collection of songs that are generally more personal and mature, and that he could not envisage being recorded by other artists. Both this and the more commercial To Be Frank (2001) are stylistically different from his earlier work by being underpinned by acoustic guitar rather than synthesiser.
These were followed by 'You’ve Got To Laugh', another collection of acoustic-led songs and 'EI8HT', a commercial MOR pop album brought on by the 80s revival and also led to the return of synthesisers in his music. Kershaw released his latest album, Oxymoron, in 2020 and is in the process of releasing a series of EPs, Songs from a Shelf. He still performs regularly.
For more information visit the official site at http://www.nikkershaw.net
Born Yesterday
Nik Kershaw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can’t lose my luggage in the friendly skies
Can’t tell the good guys from the bad
Can’t hear the music for the background noise
Wish I was born yesterday
Born yesterday
I would be naked in every sense
If I was born yesterday
Can’t look a stranger in the eye
Can’t reach the knife between my shoulder blades
Can’t fall asleep for wondering why
Can’t keep awake to man the barricades
Wish I was born yesterday
Born yesterday
I would be naked in every sense
I would be blissful in innocence
If I was born yesterday
All this stuff inside my head
Wish I could remember to forget
I find my thrill but lose my thread again
Can’t say the words, they make me choke
Can’t hear the punchline for the joke
Can’t see the trees for all the smoke
Can’t feel the love
Can’t feel the love for all the hate
Can’t taste the dinner I just ate
For all the ketchup on the plate
Wish I was born yesterday
Born yesterday
I would be naked in every sense
I would be blissful in innocence
If I was born yesterday
In Nik Kershaw's song "Born Yesterday," the lyrics describe the challenges and frustrations of a person who finds themselves overwhelmed with the complexities of life. The opening lines, "Can't shake the monkey on my back, can't lose my luggage in the friendly skies," depict a sense of helplessness and loss of control. The subsequent lines suggest a feeling of confusion and bewilderment, "Can’t tell the good guys from the bad, can’t hear the music for the background noise."
The chorus, "Wish I was born yesterday, born yesterday, I would be naked in every sense, I would be blissful in innocence, if I was born yesterday," expresses the desire to shed one's current life experiences and start anew, free from the burdens of the past. The lyrics paint a picture of a person who wishes to be relieved of the responsibilities and complexities of life, seeking a fresh start and a simpler way of being.
The final verse highlights the overwhelming feeling of being unable to cope with the pressure and struggles of life, "Can't say the words, they make me choke, can't hear the punchline for the joke, can't see the trees for all the smoke, can't feel the love for all the hate." The overall message of the song is a wish to return to a state of innocence and simplicity, to be "born yesterday" and start afresh.
Line by Line Meaning
Can’t shake the monkey on my back
I can’t seem to get rid of my problems and worries
Can’t lose my luggage in the friendly skies
I can’t even trust that my belongings will arrive safely when traveling by air
Can’t tell the good guys from the bad
I have trouble distinguishing between trustworthy and untrustworthy people
Can’t hear the music for the background noise
I can’t fully appreciate the beauty in life because of the noise and distractions around me
Wish I was born yesterday
Born yesterday
I would be naked in every sense
I would be blissful in innocence
If I was born yesterday
I wish I could start my life over, free of all the baggage I currently carry and experience the world with a new and pure perspective
Can’t look a stranger in the eye
I feel uncomfortable making eye contact with people I don’t know
Can’t reach the knife between my shoulder blades
I feel like someone may stab me in the back at any moment, leaving me vulnerable
Can’t fall asleep for wondering why
Can’t keep awake to man the barricades
I am constantly consumed with thoughts and worry, preventing me from being fully present and capable of engaging with life
All this stuff inside my head
Wish I could remember to forget
I find my thrill but lose my thread again
My mind is cluttered and it’s hard to focus on the things that truly matter in life
Can’t say the words, they make me choke
I have trouble speaking my mind and expressing myself when it matters most
Can’t hear the punchline for the joke
Can’t see the trees for all the smoke
I struggle to find joy and beauty in life because I am constantly consumed with negativity and distractions
Can’t feel the love
Can’t feel the love for all the hate
I have a hard time accepting love and joy in my life because I am consumed by bitterness and anger
Can’t taste the dinner I just ate
For all the ketchup on the plate
I am too focused on the trivial things in life to enjoy the simple pleasures, like a good meal
Contributed by Sydney M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Kanno Yoichi
on The Riddle
I got two strong arms
Blessings of Babylon
With time to carry on
And try for sins
And false alarms
So to america the brave
Wise men save
僕は二つの強い武器を知ってる
バビロンの恵み(文明の力の比喩)を
行使する力と
その罪業や
誤った警告を行使する力だ
アメリカの勇敢なる
賢者がやっているようにね
[chorus]
Near a tree by a river
There's a hole in the ground
Where an old man of Erin
Goes around and around
And his mind is a beacon
In the veil of the night
For a strange kind of fashion
There's a wrong and a right
But he'll never, never fight over you
川沿いに木があり
地面に穴のあいた土地があり
年老いたエール(アイルランド)人の男が
うろうろしている
彼の心は夜を照らす
灯台のようだ
似合っているかどうかはともかく
彼は変な格好をしている
でも彼は君と争いはしないだろう
I got plans for us
Nights in the scullery
And days instead of me
I only know what to discuss
Of for anything but light
Wise men fighting over you
僕はひらめいたことがある
洗い流したいような夜と
昼を僕が背負おうかと
ただ僕は話し合うことがあればいい
光のこと以外ならね
賢者達が君と争うと言うのならね
It's not me you see
Pieces of valentine
With just a song of mine
To keep from burning history
Seasons of gasoline and gold
Wise men fold
君が見てるのは僕じゃないさ
バレンタインの欠片かな
そうそれは僕の歌の中さ
戦火の歴史からもガソリンや
金の暴騰からも避けられるようにとね
賢者達は避けずにいくだろうがね
[chorus repeat]
I got time to kill
Sly looks in corridors
Without a plan of yours
A blackbird sings on bluebird hill
thanks to the calling of the wild
Wise mens child
暇つぶしの時間があったのさ
予定外の行動をする君を
こっそりと見に廊下に出たのさ
ブラックバードが幸せの青い鳥の丘でさえずってる
荒々しい賢者の子供を呼んでくれて有難うとね
[chorus repeat (2x)]
..But he'll never, never fight over you
でも彼は君と争いはしないだろう